Sun and weather protection device

ABSTRACT

A sun and weather protection device having fewer individual parts, a stronger clamping force and an operation which is as easy as possible and requiring only a single operating element (e.g. a clamping screw) for all adjustment directions, it is proposed to adopt a hinge combination comprising two hinge halves with rotating disks and integrated gripper clamps.

This application claims priority from German application No. DE202015001957.9 filed on Mar. 13, 2015, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a sun and weather protection device,particularly a parasol and further roof constructions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In addition to other parasol constructions, parasols configured as asupport rod with cross struts are known, for example from CH 314813(Albert Glatz), CH 395446 (Karl Strotz) and CH 501798 (Albert Glatz).

The advantages of these sail-shaped parasols are, amongst others, theirrectangular shape and the adaptability to the position of the sun. Adisadvantage is the complicated mounting of the separate fabric sheetsonto the support rod. A particularly disadvantageous aspect is thatadjustment of the roof to follow the variable path of the sun whichdepends on location, season and time of the day in accordance with priorart requires releasing and fixing again a plurality of locking devices.Also disadvantageous is that in some cases the clamping action of thelocking devices according to the prior art is weak. In DE 24 30 234 A1there is disclosed a hinge connection having only a single clampingscrew. A disadvantage of the hinge connection of DE 24 30 234 A1 is theweak clamping action and the multipiece configuration of the hingeparts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to eliminate the abovementioned weak points of the prior art and, accordingly, to achieve theadvantages of having fewer individual parts, a stronger clamping forceand an operation which is as easy as possible and requiring only asingle operating element (e.g. a clamping screw) for all adjustmentdirections.

The object of the invention is achieved with a sun and weatherprotection device, particularly a parasol, with a standing rod, asupport rod and a flexible protecting surface. The proposed sun andweather protection device comprises two hinge halves with closed gripperclamps and a toothed rotating disk plus a clamping bolt and a clampinghandle.

In this manner, all of the directions of movement can be fixed andreleased again with a single clamping handle, the clamping action isstronger and the mounting task and the number of components are reduced.

As to what concerns stability, it is advantageous if the gripper clampcan be is closed with an insertable clamping wing. To ensure fullflexibility of the sun and weather protection device it is of furtheradvantage if the support rod is slidingly movable in its axial directionwhen the clamping screw is released. It is advantageous if the rotatingdisks for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the supportrod comprise mutually engaging indentations so as to achieve aform-locking connection. Alternatively, the rotating disks for adjustingthe angle between the standing rod and the support rod can also beconically shaped—in order to establish a force-fitting connection.

Advantageously, the support rod and also the standing rod are configuredwith tubular shapes. In order to increase stability the support rod—aswell as the standing rod—can have an outer cross section deviating atleast sectionwise from a circular outer cross section, with one hingepart comprising in its gripper clamp part adaptor elements to said outercross section. For this purpose, oval or polygonal outer cross sectionswith or without rounded corners are advantageous. But it is alsopossible to use a support rod—as well as a standing rod—comprising atleast sectionwise a longitudinal groove, in which case at least onehinge part comprises, in its gripper clamp part, adaptor elements forthe longitudinal groove. To provide for a height adjustment of the sunand weather protection device, the standing rod can comprise at leasttwo telescopically sliding profiles.

To increase the stability and to improve the operation, mutuallyoverlapping centering sleeves can be arranged around the center of therotating disks.

The aforementioned elements as well as those claimed and described inthe following exemplary embodiments, to be used according to theinvention, are not subject to any particular conditions by way ofexclusion in terms of their size, shape, use of material and technicaldesign, with the result that the selection criteria known in therespective field of application can be used without restrictions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further details, advantages and features of the object of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description and thecorresponding drawings, in which a sun and weather protection deviceaccording to the present invention are illustrated by way of example. Inthe drawings there are shown in:

FIG. 1 a schematic view of a sun and weather protection device accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention with the hinge, inthe folded state, without rendering of the protection roof;

FIG. 2 a view of the sun and weather protection device according to FIG.1, in the opened state with rendering of the protection roof;

FIG. 3 a view of the sun and weather protection device according to FIG.1, in the folded state, with rendering of the protection roof;

FIG. 4 a perspective view of the operating elements of the sun andweather protection device according to FIGS. 1 to 3; with a hingeaccording to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present inventionas central element, wherein the support rod as well as the standing rodare oriented in a vertical direction;

FIG. 5 a view of the hinge according to FIG. 4 as a sectional view,wherein the support rod as well as the standing rod are oriented in avertical direction;

FIG. 6 a perspective view of the hinge according to FIG. 4, wherein thesupport rod is oriented in a direction rotated by 90° from the standingrod; and

FIG. 7 a view of the hinge according to FIG. 4 as an exploded view,wherein the support rod as well as the standing rod again are orientedin a vertical direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The parasol shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and denoted as a whole as 2 comprisesa standing rod 4 which in the present exemplary embodiment comprises twopipe parts 6 and 8 that are telescopically sliding into each other andwhich can locked and released with a first attachment device 9 providedwith a first clamping handle 10.

At the upper end of the upper pipe part 8 there is arranged a hinge 20according to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Moreover, the parasol of FIG. 1 comprises a support rod 22 which isdepicted for the case of a horizontal orientation and which is alsoarranged at the hinge 20.

In FIG. 4 there is shown the hinge 20 which receives, on the one hand,the standing rod 4, namely the upper pipe part 8 of the standing rod,and, on the other hand, the support rod 22, both of which are slidablewhen the clamping handle 40 is released and both of which are lockedwhen the clamping handle 40 of the hinge 20 is locked. Basically thehinge 20 of this exemplary embodiment comprises four functions which areall enabled when the clamping handle 40 is released and which all areprevented when the clamping handle 40 is locked, namely. Therotatability A of the standing rod 4 about the hinge 20, the slidabilityB of the support rod 22 in the hinge 20, the rotatability C of thesupport rod 22 about its own axis in the hinge 20 and also therotatability D of the support rod 22 about the standing rod 4—in theexemplary embodiment by means of form-fitting indentations in tworotating disks 42 and 44 in the locked state. In an alternativeexemplary embodiment—which is not shown separately the locking of therotatability of the support rod 22 against the standing rod 4 isprovided in a force-fitting manner preferably by having the rotatingdisks 42 and 44 for adjusting the angle between the standing rod 4 andthe support rod 22 to be conically shaped. In a further alternativeexemplary embodiment—which is not shown separately—the locking of therotatability of the support rod 22 against the standing rod 4 isprovided as a mixed form- and force-fitting type by having the rotatingdisks 42 and 44 configured with a roughened surface.

Due to the fact that in the proposed embodiment the hinge is configuredwith two hinge halves with closed gripper clamps and with two toothedrotating disks 42, 44 or in the above mentioned alternative embodiment,with conical or roughened-surface rotating disks, respectively - andfurther with clamping bolts 46 and a clamping handle 40, all of thedirections of movement can be fixed and released again with a singleclamping handle 40. The clamping action is stronger and the mountingtask and the number of components are reduced. In the present exemplaryembodiment, the hinge 40 thus comprises substantially two hinge halvesin the form of rotating disks 42 and 44 with integrated gripper clamps43, 45 and a clamping bolt 46. In the exemplary embodiment shown, thesupport rod 22 as well as the standing rod 4 have a circular outer crosssection. In alternative exemplary embodiments, the support rod 22 and/orthe standing rod 4 have an outer cross section deviating therefrom. Tononetheless provide for rotatability of the support rod 22 or thestanding rod 4, the respective hinge part comprises. In its gripperclamp part, adaptor elements to said outer cross section. For thispurpose, one can use an outer cross section that is at least sectionwiseoval or a polygonal outer cross section with or without rounded corners,or a support rod and/or standing rod can be inserted which comprises atleast sectionwise a longitudinal groove. In the exemplary embodiment asshown in FIG. 5, mutually overlapping centering sleeves 48 and 49 arearranged around the center of the rotating disks 42 and 44.

At both ends of the support rod 22, there are short support struts 24,24 a articulately attached opposite to each other with one end thereof,and with the other end thereof connected to hinges in the central partof long tensioning struts 26, 26 a. The long tensioning struts 26, 26 aare articulately connected at one end thereof with slides 28 running onthe support rod 22, whereas at the outer ends of the tensioning struts26, 26 a there are attached the corners 30, 30 a of the flexibleprotecting surface 32. The two slides 28 which are slidable in oppositedirections and are equipped with a spring-loaded tilting lever 29 havingclaws that engage into a catch when the roof is open. Upon actuating thetilting lever 29, the sliders 28 are again released and can be slidinglypushed back. This arrangement of the struts 24, 24 a, 26, 26 a have theeffect that the ends of the tensioning struts 26, 26 a, which areconnected with the corners 30, 30 a of the protecting surface 32, movealmost perpendicularly and linearly with respect to the support rod 22and that the protecting surface 32 is brought to a parallel folding 33,thus allowing for unimpeded operation of the hinge 20 also when the roofis closed. Advantageously, the long tensioning struts 26,26 a arearranged in such manner that in their folded position the outer endsthereof are arranged in a recessed position relative to the ends of thesupport rod 22, so as to avoid excessive stretching of the protectingsurface 32 upon opening or closing operation.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the protecting surface 32 comprisescorners 30, 30 a, the corners 30, 30 a of the protecting surface 32being rotatably mounted at the ends of the struts. The support rod 22comprises guiding grooves 34 for preventing twisting of the slides 28.In the guiding grooves 34 of the support rod 22 there are arrangedstopper pawls 35 for the end position of the slides 28. For opening andclosing, a tilting lever 29 with claws 29 a provided with a spring isarranged in each of the slides 28 which holds the open tensioning struts26, 26 a in position by engaging with a counter catch at the support rod22. The long tensioning struts 26, 26 a are provided with spring-loadedextensions for compensating tension. The outer ends of the longtensioning struts 26, 26 a in their closed position are arranged in arecessed position relative to the ends 22 a of the support rod so as toavoid an excessive stretching of parts of the protecting surface 32. Inthe present exemplary embodiment, the struts are provided with spreadingsprings (alternatively: with spacers). Moreover, the protecting surface32 comprises additional attachments 25 to the support rod 22 at one orboth sides of the adjusting hinge, the support rod being provided ineach case with a protection ring 25 a.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

2 standing parasol

4 standing rod

6 lower pipe part

8 upper pipe part

9 first attachment device

10 first clamping handle

20 hinge

22 support rod

22 a support rod end

24 support strut

24 a support strut

25 additional attachments

25 a protection ring

26 tensioning strut

26 a tensioning strut

28 slide

29 tilting lever

29 a claw

30 corner

30 a corner

32 protecting surface

33 folding

34 guiding groove

35 stopper pawls

40 clamping handle of the hinge

42 rotating disk

43 integrated gripper clamp

44 rotating disk

45 integrated gripper clamp

46 clamping bolt

48 centering sleeve

49 centering sleeve

1. A sun and weather protection device, particularly a parasol, with a standing rod, a support rod and a flexible protecting surface, wherein the flexible protecting surface is attached to the support rod and wherein the standing rod and the support rod are connected to each other by means of a hinge combination and wherein the protecting surface can simultaneously be rotated about and fixed to both the axis of the standing rod and the axis of the support rod by actuating a single clamping screw, and wherein furthermore also the angle between the standing rod and the support rod can be adjusted and fixed, characterized in that the hinge combination comprises two hinge halves with rotating disks and integrated gripper clamps.
 2. The sun and weather protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripper clamps are closable by means of an insertable clamping wing.
 3. The sun and weather protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support rod is slidingly movable in its axis direction when the clamping screw is released.
 4. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the rotating disks comprise mutually engaging indentations for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod.
 5. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the rotating disks for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod are conically shaped.
 6. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the support rod is configured with a tubular shape.
 7. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the support rod has an outer cross section deviating at least sectionwise from a circular outer cross section and that at least one hinge part comprises in its gripper clamp part adaptor elements to said outer cross section.
 8. The sun and weather protection device according to claim 7, characterized in that the support rod has at least sectionwise an oval outer cross section or a polygonal outer cross section with or without rounded corners.
 9. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the support rod comprises at least sectionwise a longitudinal groove and that at least one hinge part comprises in its gripper clamp part adaptor elements for the longitudinal groove.
 10. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the standing rod is configured with tubular shapes.
 11. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the standing rod has an outer cross section deviating at least sectionwise from a circular outer cross section and that at least one hinge part comprises in its gripper clamp part adaptor elements to said outer cross section.
 12. The sun and weather protection device according to claim 11, characterized in that the standing rod has at least sectionwise an oval outer cross section or a polygonal outer cross section with or without rounded corners.
 13. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the standing rod comprises at least sectionwise a longitudinal groove and that at least one hinge part comprises in its gripper clamp part adaptor elements for the longitudinal groove.
 14. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in that the standing rod comprises at least two telescopically sliding profiles.
 15. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 1, characterized in having mutually overlapping centering sleeves which are arranged around the center of the rotating disks.
 16. The sun and weather protection device according to claim 2, characterized in that the support rod is slidingly movable in its axis direction when the clamping screw is released.
 17. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 2, characterized in that the rotating disks comprise mutually engaging indentations for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod.
 18. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 3, characterized in that the rotating disks comprise mutually engaging indentations for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod.
 19. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 2, characterized in that the rotating disks for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod are conically shaped.
 20. The sun and weather protection device according to one of claims 3, characterized in that the rotating disks for adjusting the angle between the standing rod and the support rod are conically shaped. 